How to Keep Accountability High

When you have a full-time job and you’re starting a side hustle, you want to make sure that you continue to live an accountable life. It’s critical.

First of all, let’s separate two arenas: There’s tactical activities and relational activities. The tactical activities are getting stuff done; it’s our job to get the stuff done. Our job descriptions at work and in our side hustle are a list of responsibilities, not accountabilities.

Accountability is keeping your commitments to people. And those commitments, the most serious, are relational commitments, commitments that bond people. When we keep those commitments, like a commitment to the values; a commitment to you succeed, I succeed; you fail, I fail; a commitment to my word is my bond, then accountability stays high. And when we’re living that kind of life with that sort of focus and purpose, what I find is that most people will keep the tactical commitments, both at work and in their side hustle.

People are counting on you. People rely on you. Making excuses for not getting something done is simply unacceptable. Understand what your commitments are and then keep them.

Remember, we are defined by what we say no to. Sometimes we need to say no in order to not get involved in an activity that will keep us from keeping prior commitments. Some of those commitments could be tactical, some could be relational.

Accountability is keeping your commitments to people, both in your full-time job and in your side hustle. And when you keep your commitments to people, you will be accountable.

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